


High Mountain

by brokenmimir



Series: Swan Queen Week Summer 2015 [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Swan Queen Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 20:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4363307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenmimir/pseuds/brokenmimir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Swan Queen Week Summer 2015, Prompt 6: Act of True Love<br/>Regina dedicated her life to bringing Daniel back from the dead.  How hard would she work to save Emma, who's still alive as the Dark One right in front of her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	High Mountain

Regina breathed deeply, her lungs straining to find enough air to keep her head from spinning. Unfortunately, the air was so cold that it burned her lungs, making her grimace in pain as she took in the room.

The chamber was of solid stone, and was a wide, open space, with arched doorways in each cardinal direction opening onto the snowcap covering the mountaintop. The walls were covered with a thick layer of frost, and the ground had drifts of snow. At the center of the room, on a raised stone dais, was her target.

Regina walked slowly towards it, her ugly climbing boots crunching dully through the snow. She took several more deep breaths, fogging the air in front of her, as she stood in front of the frosted glass dome covering what she was searching for. Finally she raised her gloved hands and touched the glass, wiping it clean to peer within.

Her breath caught at the golden light revealed, and sure enough she could see the glowing flower sitting under the glass. She reached out her other hand to grasp the cover when a sound behind her made her spin around.

Standing in the doorway was a huge, hulking figure made of ice. Regina glared at it. “I need this flower to cure my friend. You won’t believe the amount of trouble I’ve gone through to find it.”

The figure roared, an arctic chill blowing Regina’s hair back as it did. She winced, covering her face until it stopped, and then she stretched out her hands palms up beside her. “I’m fine doing this the hard way. I have some anger to burn off, anyway.”

Fireballs formed in each of her hands, and she threw the first as the giant creature charged. Flames exploded outward, drawing a shriek of pain from the ice monster, but it didn’t stop its charge, slamming its fist into the ground where Regina had been standing. The attack hit nothing but a purple cloud as she teleported behind the monster, throwing her other fireball into its back and then firing a jet of flame from both hands until it collapsed, melting onto the slushy ground.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Regina muttered. More roars echoed around the room, and she looked around at the dozens of ice monster gathered around the building. “I just had to say that, didn’t I?”

* * *

Regina opened her door, stumbling through into her home, shaking off snow as she did. She winced as she leaned against the door, her knee throbbing with pain. She wasn’t sure if it was just bruised or worse, but she was too close to worry about it.

“Did you find what you were hoping for?” Emma purred.

Regina raised her eyes, meeting the reptilian gaze. Emma had undergone a shocking physical change when she became the dark one, become golden and scaly. That was still nothing compared to the change in her personality. She was barely a ghost of the savior she once was.

“Yes,” Regina croaked, holding up the glowing flower in on shaking fist. “I found it.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Very nice. This time you almost got yourself killed for what, a pretty posey? At least the diamond necklace was worth some money when it didn’t work, and the crystal skull makes for a cool bookend. What’s a flower worth when it does nothing?”

“This time it’ll work,” Regina insisted, finally finding the energy to stagger away from the door and toward her kitchen. Emma followed behind, a mocking smirk on her lips.

“Oh?” Emma needled. “Just like all of the other ones? How many has it been, now? A dozen? Two?”

“This one will work,” Regina insisted as she reached the kitchen.

“I see why you spent so long trying to kill my mother,” Emma drawled. “You really don’t know when to give up on a lost cause, do you? Hey, that’s an idea. Instead of giving up on Snow White, why don’t we go kill her together?”

“No,” Regina hissed. “No more killing.”

Emma pouted. “But it’s fun. Can’t you remember how much you enjoyed it?”

“No,” Regina said quietly. “Every time I killed someone all I felt was hatred and disgust. Usually with myself.”

“That’s no fun,” Emma said. “So what’s this one? Going to bake it some into some brownies? I’ve always wanted to try that.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “This isn’t that kind of magic plant. I’m going to brew a tea from this flower, and then you’ll drink it. It’s said to be able to cure any malady.”

Emma sighed. “Right. Just like the last dozen magic trinkets you brought back. When are you going to accept that you can’t just ‘fix me’. I’m the Dark One. That’s it.”

“No,” Regina said. “You are Emma Swan. And I don’t care if that idiot Snow and her insipid husband have given up. I don’t care if the handless wonder sailed away. I don’t even care that Robin Hood and my sister left town. I won’t stop until you’re you again.”

For once Emma stayed quiet while Regina brewed the magical tea, the end result glowing with a gentle golden radiance as she poured it into a fine china teacup. Emma took it and sniffed, wrinkling her nose at the smell. “Ugh. Well, bottoms up!”

Regina waited, holding her breath until Emma set the cup down. After a long moment when nothing happened she collapsed, sobbing slightly. She hadn’t slept in days as she’d climbed the seemingly endless mountain, and the exhaustion and stress suddenly caught up with her all at once as again she failed to cure Emma.

“Hey, stop that,” Emma said. “What kind of Evil Queen are you?”

Regina shook her head, wiping her eyes as she fought for composure. She’d walked to her own execution without batting an eye. She wasn’t going to break down, no matter how many times she’d failed to save Emma.

“Seriously,” Emma said, shaking her head. “Why are you trying so hard? Everyone else gave up on me months ago.”

“Henry hasn’t,” Regina insisted.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. The Truest Believer thinks I can be saved. Great. Everyone else has. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”

“Why wouldn’t I,” Regina asked, straightening up. “You said it yourself. I don’t give up on things when I start them.”

“If this is just some stubborn thing why would you be crying like that?” Emma asked. “Look, I know I said we were friends, but you really don’t have to go this far. It’s not so bad being the Dark One, anyway.”

“Yes, it is,” Regina said. “The Emma I know. Emma... she wouldn’t want to be like this. So I’m going to save her, if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Why?” Emma demanded. “Why am I so important to you?”

“Because I love you!” Regina shouted, covering her mouth a moment later. When Emma’s shocked expression didn’t fade she sighed and repeated it more softly. “I love you. I know it’s crazy. Sometime’s I wonder if I’m crazy. But I’m in love with you. And I’m not going to let you go. I will save you, if it’s the last thing I do.”

“You... you love me?” Emma stammered. “What?”

Regina smiled. “Is it really that hard to believe? I’m in love with you.”

When Emma kept staring at her in shock Regina chuckled and limped over to the blonde. She placed her hands on the woman’s scaly cheeks and closed her eyes, leaning in to kiss her. Despite the rough texture of her skin Emma’s lips were as soft as she’d imagined, and for a long moment she lost herself in the warm feeling as the Dark One returned the kiss.

Regina was so caught up in the kiss that she didn’t notice anything else. She didn’t notice the light that surrounded them, exploding outward and filling the town. Didn’t feel the scales fading from Emma’s cheeks as they became soft skin once again. Didn’t feel anything except her love for Emma until the blonde pulled away with a gasp.

“Regina,” she whispered.

“E-Emma?” Regina stammered, unable to believe her eyes. “You’re- you’re...”

“I’m cured,” Emma said. “You fixed me.”

“How?” Regina asked.

“Isn’t it obvious,” Emma said with a smile. “True love’s kiss.”

Before Regina could truly process that Emma kissed her again.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the second story I wrote for this prompt, but I just didn’t like the first one, so I scrapped it and threw this together. Hope you liked it!


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